Dwane Casey, the former head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and longtime assistant to Nate McMillan in Seattle, stopped by the Trail Blazers practices the past two days.

But McMillan and general manager Kevin Pritchard said there is nothing to read into Casey's presence other than a friend stopping by to watch some basketball.

"We like having him around,'' Pritchard said. "He brings a fresh set of eyes. Like he put it, 'I appreciate you letting me come around so I can get my basketball fix'. I look at it as we are all a fraternity, and I want him to succeed.''

I didn't get a chance to talk to Casey - one of the league's all-time nice guys - but he is still living in Seattle and collecting his guaranteed salary after being fired by the Timberwolves last season.

McMillan said Casey called him on Monday and asked if he could come down for a few days. McMillan, who considers Casey among his closest coaching friends, didn't hesitate to oblige.

"He just wants to stay in the mix,'' McMillan said. "(Tuesday) night he came in and watched practice and we all sat here until about 11 p.m. having dinner and talking.''

McMillan has always raved about Casey's attention to detail. He says Casey carries around a thick book that is stuffed with scouting reports on players and teams. McMillan has also said that he would always provide some semblance of a job should Casey ever want to return.

But as of this week, it doesn't appear Casey will be joining the Blazers staff - one because it's full, and two because McMillan raves about the job done by assistants Dean Demopoulos, Monty Williams, Bill Bayno and Maurice Lucas.

"And if I call him to consult, I know what he is going to do,'' McMillan said. "He won't do it because he doesn't want to step on the toes of Dean, Monty or Luke.''